Fire and Ice Gala to go toward city fire museum

By Rose Mary Budge / Special to the Express-News :
August 28, 2011
: Updated: August 28, 2011 8:28am

A 1951 fire engine sits in the Old Water Street Fire Station No. 7 where the Water Street Irregulars have rebuilt it and other old fire engines. They will be holding a Fire and Ice Gala on Sept. 9 to raise funds for a San Antonio Fire Museum. SALLY FINNERAN / EXPRESS-NEWS

Photo By SALLY FINNERAN/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Lee Zalesky works on the old fire engine. SALLY FINNERAN / EXPRESS-NEWS

Lee Zalesky gets ready to start the engine of a 1951 relic fire truck at the Old Water Fire Station No. 7. SALLY FINNERAN / EXPRESS-NEWS

More Information

Fire and Ice Gala

6 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Omni Hotel, 9821 Colonnade Blvd.

$175 per person; $1,500 for a table of 10.

210-887-0678 for reservations.

Some folks believe the ghost of a San Antonio firefighter floats around old Water Street Station No. 7, causing lights to flicker and boards to creak. This spirit might also slide down the rusty fire pole and sit in the beautifully restored American La France engine. And lately while haunting, it could be hunting for a ticket to the Fire and Ice Gala, a benefit set for Sept. 9 at the Omni Hotel at the Colonnade.

Don't laugh. Even retired fireman David Perez thinks it's possible, although he's definitely not eager to find out for sure.

But if the tale is true ... well, you really can't fault that ghost. As Perez and other members of the Water Street Irregulars will tell you, every firefighter — past or present — likes a good party. And Fire and Ice, sponsored by the San Antonio Fire Museum Society, promises to be all that — plus, it's for a good cause.

Funds raised from the event will help support historic fire equipment restoration, something that Perez and his buddies, most of them Fire Department retirees, have been involved with for months now. The benefit, which will include a gourmet dinner and a silent auction, also will raise cash to create a first-class fire department museum for the city. “Many other big cities already have fire museums,” says Frank Walsh, curator of fire department memorabilia and an enthusiastic local historian. “San Antonio's the seventh largest city in the nation; it's high time we had one.”

Efforts toward the goal started back in the 1990s, Walsh said, and despite setbacks and what never seems to be enough money to cover the projected $5 million cost, S.A. firefighters haven't given up on the dream. In fact, it has moved closer to reality in recent months. Much of the credit for this goes to the volunteer efforts of the Irregulars who, contrary to their name, regularly show up at the Water Street Station, 604 S. Alamo St., to restore rusty fire engines and artifacts, sound old sirens and arouse a lot of community interest.

In the beginning, the hope was that the South Alamo at Water Street address, a site steeped in history, would be the museum's home. Regrettably, says Walsh, the structure turned out to be too small and lacked expansion space. So, a new locale was sought. Carlos Resendez, chairman of the San Antonio Fire Museum Society, said another historic downtown station, No. 1 at 801 E. Houston St., will someday fill the role. Former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger, instrumental in securing Station No. 1 for the future museum site, will be honored as Humanitarian of the Year at the gala.

The proposed museum will include exhibitions of artifacts, historic photos and uniforms; a hall of firefighting equipment and restored fire trucks; a memorial to fallen firefighters; a fire-safety education center and interactive theater; and a gift shop. Resendez anticipates seeing the museum filled with crowds of school kids learning life-saving lessons while gaining an appreciation for the department's past.

San Antonio's paid Fire Department was officially formed in 1891, which makes it one of the oldest nonvolunteer fire departments in the nation. But firefighting was going on in the Alamo City long before that. Walsh says bucket brigades, hand pumpers and numerous highly competitive volunteer companies were around as far back as the 1850s.The first organized fire company was the Ben Milam No. 1, which came along in 1854 and boasted a two-wheeled ladder truck that was hand drawn and carried numerous leather buckets.

The 604 S. Alamo St. site where station No. 7 now stands was in use early on. The Irregulars like to show off photos of a quaint structure that once was on their corner and served as headquarters for Mission Hose Company No. 4, organized in 1885. Still another fire station was constructed on the lot in 1901, and then, in the 1920s, the current building with its impressive arched doorways and red-tile trim came along.

“There's so much history here,” says Perez, who gave the San Antonio Fire Department three decades of service before retirement. “It would be a real loss if this building is ever torn down.”

The hope is that old No. 7 will continue on as a workshop even after the new museum opens its doors. And with this in mind, the Irregulars have been painting and fixing things up to make the place presentable, often using funds out of their own pockets. As for their restoration work, along with the now beautiful 1927 La France, they've refurbished a Mack engine from the 1950s.

Another Mack of the same vintage soon will be painted and polished. The old truck's scars and grimy surface testify to the trips it made to blazes and to the bravery of San Antonio firefighters who rode engines just like it. But Irregulars have a tough time with that word “bravery.” The way they see it, firefighting's more a matter of good training, ability and confidence. And then, “just doing the job.”

Of course, modern technology and sleek new equipment have made the job a whole lot easier. The primitive ladder trucks, hand-pumpers, steamers and fire horses that history celebrates have long since been put out to pasture. But, Perez says, some things never change: “Just like the old firehorses, we retirees are still ready to go the minute the bell rings. Once a fireman, always a fireman.”

Likely, the ghost that floats around old Water Street Station No. 7 would agree.